Accident at Work Compensation Claims
Workplace injuries are all too common and every year thousands of people are hurt in accidents at work. These injuries can be life changing, affecting your ability to work and causing you real financial difficulties, as well as impacting your personal life and family.
Making a compensation claim is often the only way to get the financial support you need to replace any lost income and to get the right treatment and care for your recovery. While the process of making a claim may seem intimidating and stressful at an already difficult time, our team can provide the clear legal guidance and sympathetic personal support needed to make getting fair compensation for a workplace injury much easier.
Our workplace injury solicitors work with clients all over the UK from our six offices spread across Bristol and the surrounding area in Bedminster, Clifton, Horfield, Kingswood, Queen Square and Thornbury.
So, if you’ve suffered an injury at work through no fault of your own, speak to one of our specialist personal injury solicitors for advice on making a compensation claim.
Our expertise with accident at work claims
Our specialist personal injury lawyers have proven experience in workplace personal injury claims. We act for clients throughout the UK and have secured substantial compensation, including for highly complex claims that were strongly defended by employers and their insurers.
Our workplace accidents expertise includes:
- Industrial injuries
- Forklift accidents
- Assaults at work
- Work-related traffic accidents
- Back injuries at work
- Construction accidents
- Falls at work
- Fatal workplace accidents
- Head injuries at work
Our specialist team are accredited by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and we are members of the Spinal Injuries Association and Headway’s Personal Injury Solicitors list.
We are recognised as leading personal injury lawyers by the top client guides to the legal profession; Chambers and Partners UK and the Legal 500. We have achieved band 2 ranking by Chambers and Partners UK and tier 4 ranking for the South West by Legal 500.
Our workplace injury claims service
Starting a claim for accident at work compensation
If you want to start a workplace injury claim, you can book a free initial consultation with our friendly, expert team. This will give you the opportunity to discuss the circumstances surrounding your injury and we can then talk you through how the claims process works and what to expect next, including your options for funding your claim.
Investigating your claim
To start building your claim, we will need to investigate how your injury occurred and the impact on your health to establish that you have grounds for a successful claim. We will need to show that:
- Your employer had a duty of care to protect your health and well-being at the time your injury occurred.
- Your employer failed in that duty of care.
- This failure directly led to, or contributed to, your injuries.
We will rely on various types of evidence to establish these key points, potentially including witness statements, CCTV footage, health and safety records from your employer, and testimonies from independent experts.
Putting a value on your injury at work claim
We realise that knowing how much compensation you may be entitled to is likely to be one of your top concerns. We will work to give you a realistic estimate of your claim’s potential value at the earliest opportunity, so you have an indication of what you may be able to claim.
The damages available for workplace injuries fall into two basic categories:
General damages – These cover any non-financial losses resulting from your injuries e.g. pain and suffering, lifestyle changes etc.
Special damages – These cover any specific financial losses you have suffered or are likely to suffer in future due to your injuries, e.g. lost income, treatment costs etc.
Out-of-court settlements for workplace injury claims
Workplace injury claims are almost always resolved with an out-of-court settlement agreed voluntary with your employer and/or their insurer.
This can allow you to get fair compensation for your injuries much faster and with significantly lower legal fees compared to pursuing court proceedings. It also helps to keep the process more amicable and means you do not have to deal with the stress and uncertainty of court proceedings.
Court proceedings for workplace injury compensation
Where a settlement cannot be agreed voluntarily, we may need to initiate court proceedings to make sure you get the compensation you deserve.
Our litigation team are highly experienced with pursuing workplace injury claims through the courts, so can ensure your claim is prepared and presented the right way to give you the best chance of a positive outcome.
We appreciate that you may find the thought of going to court worrying, but if this is required, we will give you all of the support you need to make sure you are fully prepared for your hearing and that the process is as easy on you as possible.
Access to rehabilitation support
Thanks to our strong experience in supporting people with injuries of all types, we know how to help you get the treatment and care you need for your rehabilitation quickly and effectively.
We can recommend appropriate specialists in injury rehabilitation and recovery, as well as counselling services and other types of personal support, helping you to make the best possible recovery.
Managing accident at work compensation
Winning compensation for your injuries is not the end of your journey or of the support we can offer you. It is essential to make sure you manage your compensation effectively, especially when dealing with substantial sums of money.
Proper management of your compensation can help to ensure you get the most out of the funds you receive and that your long-term needs can continue to be met.
Our personal injury lawyers cannot advise you with regard to investment of your compensation, and so it’s important to obtain proper independent financial advice for this. We can, however, put you in touch with an independent financial advisor who can advise you on the various options, including placing your compensation into a personal injury trust, which allows you to use your compensation to meet your needs, while making sure it does not affect your entitlement to means-tested benefits.
Funding for accident at work claims
There are various options for funding a workplace injury claim and we will be happy to discuss these with you during your initial consultation.
It is worth noting that, if successful, the workplace injury compensation will be paid by your employer’s insurer and they will also normally pay a significant contribution towards your legal fees, meaning you will not be liable for all the legal costs incurred.
No win, no fee accident at work claims
Most of the claims we deal with are funded using a conditional fee agreement (CFA), more commonly referred to as a ‘no win, no fee’ deal.
As the name implies, this approach means you will only need to cover our legal fees if we win compensation for you – if no compensation is secured, you will not owe us for our legal fees.
There is no upfront cost to you for starting a no win, no fee claim, meaning this funding option is suitable for everyone, no matter your personal financial circumstances.
Trade union funding for workplace accident claims
If you are a member of a trade union, they may cover the cost of your legal fees. This is something you should discuss with your union as soon as possible.
Legal expenses insurance
Many people have legal expenses insurance as an optional extra with their home insurance or car insurance. This can cover some or all of your legal costs for making a workplace injury claim, so it is worth checking whether you have this type of cover before starting your claim.
Find out more about funding your claim.
Accident at work claims FAQs
Whilst all jobs carry a degree of risk, health and safety regulations are designed to keep you safe from injury whilst in the workplace. Your employer is responsible for enforcing these regulations and you have the right to expect protection against the risks you face.
Illness and injuries at work can be caused by a range of problems, from lack of training and faulty equipment to hazardous chemicals and lifting and machinery accidents.
You will normally have three years to make a claim for most types of personal injuries, including those sustained at work. However, there can be circumstances where you will have longer to claim, so it is always worth consulting a member of our team about your right to claim.
Situations where the time limit for a claim may be extended include:
If you only become aware of your injury later – Then the three-year time limit will usually apply from the date you found out about the injury (known as the ‘date of knowledge’).
If you need to claim for someone under 18 – You will usually have until they turn 18 to do so. The claimant can then make their own claim up until their 21st birthday.
If you need to claim for someone without mental capacity – There is normally no time limit for you to claim on their behalf. However, if they later regain capacity (e.g. they wake up from a coma) the three-year time limit will be counted from the date when the claimant regains capacity.
Of course, it’s only natural to worry that your long-term employment prospects will be affected if you make a work injury compensation claim, but this really shouldn’t be the case.
If your employer were to terminate your employment or otherwise treat you unfairly as the result of you deciding to bring a claim, you would likely have grounds for an employment claim.
By law, there should be insurance against staff accidents, meaning that an insurance company will pay your accident compensation and our fees if you’re successful in your claim.
If you have already started an accident at work claim and are unhappy with your current legal representation, it is straightforward to transfer your case to our team. We can explain how this works and guide you through the process of moving your claim to use, then make sure you have the very best support for a successful claim going forward.
Our workplace injury claims success stories
Seven-figure out-of-court settlement for workplace head + brain injury
We represented a client who suffered a severe head and brain injury after falling through the floor at work and landing on concrete.
The client’s injuries resulted in the loss of her sense of smell, damage to her hearing and sense of taste, as well as issues with her short-term memory and concentration. She also developed epilepsy resulting in seizures, one of which led to the premature delivery of her baby. The client was left suffering from anxiety, panic attacks and lack of confidence, as well as the physical impact of her injuries.
We were able to secure a pre-trial settlement of a seven-figure sum to the client, including compensation for her pain and suffering, as well as her financial losses, both those she had already incurred and to cover expected future costs. Read more about this case.
Start an accident at work compensation claim today
Wondering if you have a claim for workplace injury compensation? You can arrange a free initial consultation with one of our specialist personal injury solicitors at any of our offices across Bristol and the surrounding area in Bedminster, Clifton, Horfield, Kingswood, Queen Square and Thornbury. We can also visit you at home or in hospital if you are unable to travel to one of offices.
To discuss a potential personal injury claim with a member of our team, call 0117 325 2929 or complete our online enquiry form.
